more evidence boehner's democratic counterpart house minority leader nancy pelosi also seems to be softening her language as we head into the weekend. listen. >> what we want to do is protect the middle class. so it's not about the rate. it's about the money. >> so is 37 the magic number in this fiscal cliff debate? outfront" two men who know taxes very well. the president of the american action forum and robert reich from the university of california and berkeley and former secretary under bill clinton. douglas, does this sound like code for a deal in the works? >> it certainly is good news that they aren't taking things off the table. i would be premature if i was celebrating a deal. there's a long way to go. it's important that they reach an agreement. the fiscal cliff is a very real danger to the united states economy. it's a recipe for a recession. and i certainly would not like to see the rhetoric that we saw from the treasury secretary tim geithner who said he's prepared to go over the fiscal cliff. that is not a good way to talk about what's going on right now. >> mr. reich, let me a